Don't Touch Me
by Sinor
Summary: Kalmei was a normal girl. Now, she's a monster. She feels like there's no joy left for her in this world. But what happens when our favorite kitsune and fire demon start snooping around?
1. Chapter 1: The Kitten

Chapter 1- The Kitten

It was a cold, wet, November evening. The rain was a cold drizzle that penetrated the thickest coat. No one should've been out on such a miserable evening. However, mewing with cold and wet, a newly-born kitten nuzzled its' dead mother. The kitten didn't know about death. It simply wanted its' mother to get up and feed him. It mewed again, pathetically. A particularly large drop landed on its back. It shivered and opened its mouth to mew again.

Suddenly, the rain stopped. The kitten shook itself and mewed again, not noticing the man holding the umbrella. A girl was looking worriedly at the tiny thing. She made signs at the man, who nodded and beckoned to someone else.

That someone walked forward. The man bent his head and whispered something. Nodding, the other man produced a bottle, filled with milk. They had obviously expected she would find something.

The girl was in meantime pointing and gesturing to the mother's belly. After some thought, the man realized what she wanted.

"Alright, but be prepared for the other kittens to be dead. We don't know how long the mother's been here."

The girl nodded, still pointing anxiously at the mother. Taking a knife, the man slit open the mother's belly. Peering inside, he shook his head. The girl bowed her head. Soon, though, she picked up the mother and made her way to the soft grass on the side of the road. Touching the ground, where the grass suddenly died, she dug and scratched until she a shallow hole, then placed the mother inside. Then she scraped at the surrounding earth until it covered her. Once the grave was finished, she stood and bowed to it. She then spun and went back to the man. He was holding the kitten, feeding it.

The girl gestured for the bottle. Holding it carefully, she slowly let the milk drop into the kittens' mouth. Finally, the kitten yawned, sated. The girl immediately took off her sweater to make a cozy nest for the kitten. The man took the sweater, settling the kitten in it. The girl reached out as if to pet it, but stopped centimeters away. Her hand hovered over the kitten, pain obvious in her face. The man saw this.

"Ask not for the impossible. Be happy you fed the kitten. Be happy that the kitten is happy. But never touch it. You know the consequences."

The girl nodded her head sadly. The man could almost feel her pain, and wished he could put his arm around her, as he did his own daughter at home. But that was what they had warned against the most. Don't touch her. Don't let her touch anything living.

"Come on. Let's go. They're waiting for you."

The girl nodded again, gesturing for them to go on ahead. They did, leaving her behind. She stood in the rain for a long time, feeling the tears that ran down her face. For the millionth time that day, she questioned the gods. _Why? Why have you given me this curse?_

"Hey! Hey, you over there! Get out of the rain!"

The speaker was a man, well dressed and comely. He was holding an umbrella, and looked at her as if she were crazy. He had reason. She stood in the cold rain in November, and didn't have so much as a sweater.

"Girl, where are your parents? Do they know you're out here?" the man demanded, looking half-confused and half-angry as he approached.

The girl stood back from him, her hands making signs, words that read, if the man could read sign language, 'Don't touch me.'

"Good lord, you're not even wearing a coat! Aren't you freezing?" the man asked, looking now pityingly at her. The girl shook her head furiously, trying to stay away from the man, hands fluttering over and over, 'Please don't touch me'

The man's IQ was not very high, and he couldn't understand why she didn't talk. "Are you afraid of me? It's alright, girl, I won't hurt you. Here, let me take you to my house. My wife will kill me if she discovers I left a poor little scrap like you out here."

He reached for the girls' arm, with the girl desperately forming signs, but it's too late. He touched her, and for a moment, he froze in surprise. Then he disappeared, but the girl saw his energy, his life energy, flow into her. She felt the energy inside of her, and felt it leave to parts unknown. One thing she did know, however, was that the man was dead, and it was her that killed him.

"Kalmei…" said a voice, and she looked up. The man from earlier was there, still holding the kitten. "Come on, it's time to go."

Kalmei stood up, fresh tears running down her face. Waving away the man, she signed,

'Don't touch me.'

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Me: Okay, angst-filled or sad? I don't want anymore angst, but sad is okay. It's supposed to be sad. Please let me know!

Kalmei: 'Yeah, please and thank you!'

Me: Is it possible to have exclamation points in sign language? -is clueless about it-

Kalmei: 'If you don't know it, why do you have a story with it?'

Me: -sweatdrops- Never mind, just review please!


	2. Chapter 2: Far From Happy

Chapter 2: Far From Happy

"No…no…I said no! No! I'm telling you, you can't go to school!" The man glared at the girl making desperate signs at him. "It's far too dangerous! There's no way you could avoid touching someone and then…" he left his sentence hanging. Kalmei hng her head, knowing she had lost.

Kalmei Didarski was a 15-year-old girl. She had short, very dark brown hair, with very light brown eyes to contrast. She wore mostly dark clothes, when she could. She was also mute.

Kalmei father had been, and still was, a biologist. He dealt with living things, and great important secrets.

Like magic.

Her father was also the cause of her illness.

When Kalmei was ten, her father had one day come home and talked to her, telling her that he was doing something very, very important, and that he needed to finish it at any cost. Any cost at all.

Being ten, and totally trusting her father, she had said, "Don't worry Daddy, it'll all work out."

And he smiled sadly and said, "Yes…"

Then he asked her to go to work with him the next day.

At first it was all fine. She met docters, and nurses, were given their names, and what their specialties were. She spent a happy hour and a half with her father.

Then it all went wrong.

They ushered her into a stark white room, with only a bed and a bench. She sat down on the bench, and swung her feet a little. She stared up at the window, where she could see scientists moving around and taking seats. She smiled and waved at them.

There was a burst of white light, blue light, pink light, every color light was flooding into that little room, and Kalmei screamed, hearing a ripping, feeling herself split into two, into two separate beings.

When she woke she could no longer speak.

She had only a few memories.

And she looked completely different.

Sobbing with pain, she looked up through the glass, before realizing something else.

_There was someone else in the room._

Turning to look, she caught a glimspe of light brown hair, and fell unconscience as the gas spread through the room.

It was after she woke again that she discovered the most horrifying part.

Everything she touched died.

It cracked, it withered, it stained, and it destroyed.

At first she though the scientists would put her back together right away, that they would fix this.

It took her two years to realize they wouldn't.

The tests just went on and on, with no end. Kalmei wanted to scream.

But she couldn't.

So instead every day her depression deepened, until finally repeated attempts to kill herself had convinced the scientists to let her outside for awhile.

She had never seen the light-haired girl again.

But, Kalmei, although improving slowly, was far from happy. She was pleased with the kitten's growth, but her inability to touch it deepened her depression.

She could touch inanimate things, if she focused, but never living things.

Kalmei made some signs again, despondately.

The man, who was not a scientist and felt rather sorry for the girl, softened. "Alright. The rain's stopped, so you can go out for a walk. Alone. Just be back before dark, okay?"

Kalmei nodded slowly.

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Me: Sorry it's short! I have to get off really soon, so, please review Kohari's stuff and mine!

Kalmei:makes signs:

Me: She says review too. Bye!


	3. Chapter 3: Strange Meetings

Chapter 3: Strange Meetings

Kalmei walked sadly through the gray, despondent day. She felt a marginal happiness of being actually outside, able to smell the world, to see it.

But without the ability to speak, she felt left out. Although she could smell the freshness after the rain and see the trees and flowers, she could not touch even them.

For they, too, lived.

Releasing her breath in a silent sigh, she continued her walk. Focusing a little, she allowed her hand to drift across the brick wall to her right as she walked.

It remained whole. A tiny flicker of a smile showed itself.

Finally, after walking in circles and circles around the wall, and the park it surrounded, she focused harder, and heaved herself up onto it. There she sat, watching everything from her vantage point, pretending that she was just waiting for a friend, and had no need to talk to the strangers passing by. It eased her just a little, released her partially from her pain. The hours went by, with her imagination fading thread by thread until finally she let it go altogether. Then she just sat, quietly wondering where her father was now. After that day, he had never come back.

The sun was down. Kalmei shivered, from the wet and chill.

"Cold?" a voice inquired.

Turning around, she saw a young man standing inside the park. He was smiling warmly at her, wearing an orange wind-breaker. His hair was the most brilliant red, and he had sparkling emerald eyes. Kalmei nodded, too stunned to try and make signs. No one had **ever** spoke to her except her bodyguards and scientists.

It didn't help that this young man was beautiful.

Still smiling, he took off his coat and offered it. "Here. I don't really need it anyway. I haven't been out here long."

Numbly, she took it, nearly forgetting to concentrate. She draped it over herself, and felt a small amount of heat return. She smiled shyly at him, not sure how to reply.

He returned it with another warm, comforting smile of his own.

"Shouldn't you be getting home? It's getting kinda late."

Glancing at the sun, she nodded.

"Would you like me to escort you there?"

Kalmei would've liked it, but wasn't sure. If her bodyguards saw her, she wasn't sure what they would do. However, she nodded.

He smiled, and offered a hand to help her down, but she shook her head, and jumped down herself.

He had truly meant it when he had asked if she wanted an escort. He was politely silent, and seemed oblivious to her shy–and curious-glances.

No one had **ever** been this nice to her since she was ten.

Finally reaching the apartment where she was staying, she smiled and made hand-signs, saying 'Thank you for taking me home.'

To her surprise, he understood. "You're very welcome."

Slowly, she removed the wind-breaker and handed it to him. He took it from her with another smile.

"Well, good night then."

She made hand-signs for 'Good night and thank you again.'

Still smiling, the young man turned around and headed back the way he came. And Kalmei turned and entered the apartment, feeling actually happy for the first time in God-knows-how-many-years.

It was only after she was inside with a warm cup of milk that she realized she hadn't asked for his name. It wasn't like she'd ever see him again, but she still would've liked to know. Oh well, it was too late now.

She took a gulp of milk.

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Kurama had an odd feeling about that girl he had met. Her aura had been very strange, possessing neither reiki or youkai, but seemed…damaged somehow.

He had never seen nor heard of an aura that had been damaged.

He pondered it while he sat in his window, book lying neglected on his lap. Perhaps he should see where this strange girl went, and what she did. He'd been keeping tabs on her, but she seemed to have moved farther away. He wasn't certain he could get that far in a night without turning into his Youko form.

So he sat, thinking seriously.

"Kitsune, I can sense you from across the town. What on earth is going through your mind?"

Kurama turned idely to address Hiei from the tree he had situated himself in, mind still on that girl.

"Hiei, how would you like to break into a building?"

Hiei's eyes flashed. "Talk, kitsune."

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Me: I couldn't tell whether or not I should stop here or not, but I decided I'm evil.

Kalmei: 'You certainly are. Even though I know what's going to happen, I'm sitting on the edge of my seat. You're so cruel to your readers.'

Me: Yeah, anything within the single quotations(apostrophes for you grammer specific people out there) is her signing. I want you to know what she's saying, plus it's hard to always have to write it so people don't know what the (main) character's saying.

Kalmei: 'You're avoiding the question.'

Me: Am not! Everybody read Kohari's stuff, review it, and review mine too! Thanks!

Kalmei: 'You see? She's avoiding the question.'

Me: Away with you!


	4. Chapter 4: Breaking and Entering

Breaking and Entering

Youko loved this feeling. Running free under the moonlight, knowing that your friend was nearby, about to do something dangerous. Youko hadn't felt this way for a long time.

Pausing momentarily on a tree branch, he sought the broken aura again. It wasn't far now. Hiei was nearby, his red and black aura strong and whole. Youko shook his head. One day his kitsune curiosity would kill him.

Youko didn't think that was such a terrible death. He continued on.

Imagine his surprise when the building containing the broken aura was revealed to be a lab of some sort. His sharp nose smelled chemicals, and natural substances. A biology lab? He waited to see if the broken aura moved.

It didn't. Perhaps the girl was an experiment?…

That made sense. That had to be it. Youko was incredibly interested now. He was determined to get in.

The locks were absurdly easy, even if he was rusty. Avoiding security cameras was ridiculous as well. However, the room with the girl was a problem. It required a security code, and Youko did not want to spend all night guessing.

"Hiei," he hissed. The Koorime understood. His Jagan glowed.

"There are windows. Reinforced, but we could break them," he whispered back.

Youko disliked the idea of leaving traces, but there was no choice. "Alright. Lead me there."

Hiei snorted and started off.

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Kalmei couldn't sleep. She lay, staring at the ceiling. The kitten had probably been donated to the scientists for research. She sighed unhappily, almost hearing the kitten's little mewl. She felt close to tears, but she could not expend the energy. She was already uneasy with how low her energy levels were, but she couldn't kill another thing, even though that would give her energy.

That was her curse. All living things gave their energy to her, passed on their very lifeforce, willingly. She was like entropy, always living for random and energy. But she constantly wondered, if she was entropy, who was enthalpy? If she took away energy, who gave it back? She couldn't answer. Perhaps the light-haired girl? Possibly. Oh, how she wanted to meet that girl, just once more. Just once…

A thump startled her. She sat up, looking around. As usual, movement turned the lights on. She could see the room, no longer bare, but pitted with black marks from experiments gone wrong. A second thump directed her attention to the window where the scientists sat and watched. People were there now, pounding on the glass.

They weren't scientists.

Kalmei shivered. She was excited, not worried. If they were dangerous, she could take care of them. But people! Actual people!

And then the glass broke.

Shards flew everywhere, tinkling as they hit each other mid-air. Kalmei watched in wonder. Who on earth, she wondered, would expend so much energy simply to break glass? It was very pretty, but useless. Why?

The sound of people touching the floor jerked her attention from her vague wanderings. Two boys—no, **men**—stood there, watching her. She recognized neither of them. Then the taller one, who had ears and a tail, spoke.

"Are you alright?"

She wasn't frightened, or confused. It seemed perfectly natural that these men stood here, perfectly normal that one had tail and ears, and perfectly normal that they cared for her health. She nodded, very calmly.

"I am Youko Kurama. You may call me Kurama."

She nodded, this time acknowledging and welcoming him.

"And this is Hiei Jaganishi."

Again the nod.

"What is your name?"

She searched for paper and pen, but found none. Shrugging, she signed the different letters, slowly.

Kurama frowned. "Kalmei?"

She nodded.

"Well, Kalmei, could you explain something to me? What—"

Kalmei pointed at the glass. She shook her head, making a diagonal slash across her throat. She made it several times, waiting patiently for Kurama, or Hiei, to get it.

"We can't talk here."

Kalmei nodded furiously, surprised at Hiei's deep voice.

Kurama looked surprised. He hadn't been expecting this, obviously. He turned to Hiei, exchanging a million words in a look.

Kalmei waited, feeling an odd feeling rising. She hadn't felt this in so long, she had almost forgotten the name. Hope. Hope that they would take her away.

Finally Kurama nodded. "Alright, Kalmei, you're coming with us. Wait here."

He jumped, and was gone. Kalmei reached out to stop him. Hiei glanced at her, and said, "I'll tell him."

Kalmei looked at him. How had he known her thoughts? Known she had to tell him the code? Perhaps she would learn.

The door slid open. Kalmei walked out of it, careful to not even brush Kurama.

They walked in silence until outside, and then Kalmei shivered. She was free.

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Me: I'm SO sorry! School has been so hectic! But I got it up, and I hope to have another chapter up soon! I am so sorry for the wait! Gomen!

Kalmei: 'She really is sorry. She's been trying for weeks now. Feel sorry for her. And review, please. Until next time.'

Me: Thank you so much!


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